Wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Also I know this is the time a lot of people decide to “get it together” and make a concerted effort toward healthy habits My own fit-iversary is coming up in just 2 days – wow – 6 yrs on the fit train!!

And boy, it’s been a long time for a blog post!
I apologize but I’ve been busy trying to adjust to a new job … and frankly just keeping my head above water fitness-wise so I haven’t felt I had anything new to say.
I started the blog because I felt there was so much that could help others but I don’t want to keep repeating – but we are all at different stages (and go back and forth between stages as times moves on) so it is still relevant. Just not sure if I should tell you to read the older posts, or freshen the info up and just keep posting more if it! I know I could use refreshers every now and then (or maybe just beat it into my head haha), but ya know…

With that out of the way, there is something I’ve been wanting to write about that is definitely not a repeat! Intermittent fasting – hmmmmm While I am decidedly not an advocate of fasting, I was an unwitting participant in just such an experiment the last few months. I want to share my experience. Let me preface by saying that I have seen results – some good, some are the reasons I don’t care for it

I took a job as a mother/baby nurse in July. A career change (or addition) later in life, this is my first nursing job and every 12 (or 13, or 14) hour shift is full of learning on the fly, catching up because I am new and slower, demands I didn’t realize I had and have to play catchup to meet – so quite often I find myself not eating until 3 or 4, which brings me quite close to 12 hours of no food. That, my friends, is intermittent fasting! Sometimes when I do get a chance to eat a little earlier, it is a small amount and I won’t eat again until I get home, but at that hour I cannot process a whole meal so that amount is small too.

First off, this is a miserable way (for me) to eat, especially since I have spent the last 5 years eating every 3 hours. I can feel my stomach gnawing at me the entire time and often into the next day even after eating. I am also pretty dehydrated but I am working on that. However, I started to notice that I lost a few pounds. Referencing the dehydrated statement, I pinned it on that. And some of it was just that, lost 3 pounds only to gain back 2 after a few days off with some water! But over time that other pound stayed gone.

In the 5 months since this “experiment” began the total stands at 7 pounds lost. This is despite the rational (not) and “well deserved” arguments for beer and nachos and fried instead of grilled chicken that I have convinced myself of way too often. It was a welcome loss, as I had tipped above my “threshold” of when it was time to “get back on track” anyway. I don’t prefer this sort of weight loss though. It is really “expensive” for your body to retain muscle and much easier to maintain fat tissue, so it’s a battle while losing weight to keep muscle in any situation. And I lost muscle – due to both injuries and time management that kept me from working out at full capacity to convince my body to keep the muscle. But I also feel like a lack of food and protein for so many hours made it less likely for my body to spend the effort to keep the muscle tissue.

To some it may seem like no big deal, but I worked really hard for that muscle! And it’s a LOT of work to get it back… oh my…

I guess if you decide to try the intermittent fasting (fasting for 10 – 16 hours of the day and eating only in the other hours) My advice would be to drink lots of water, really pay attention to your exercise routine to keep your muscle, and lay off the “treats” haha! It’s really tempting to rationalize “oh this is the only meal I get today I can really go to town if I want!” and that’s a difficult habit to break.

But it seems like it is ONE way to control your calorie intake – and that really is what weight loss boils down to. Not all methods are good for all people, not all methods will get you to your personal goal – but the basic premise for losing weight is calorie reduction in some form or fashion… and this is ONE of those ways

It’s not an anniversary or anything I’ve just been seeing posts in my facebook timeline “memories” of that first year of fit – what a FUN time! Oh it was a LOT of work, but it was fun reaching goals, trying new things, finding things I was good at or at least enjoyed trying to be good at haha. Disappointments too but finding the strength to continue past them was even a joy. A year of discovering parts of me that I didn’t even know!↓↓↓ this was on my timeline this morning

In the years since, I’ve experienced awesome and struggle, personal bests and setbacks … maybe it’s expected, they say maintenance is the hardest part, that after 5 years the struggle lingers a bit longer and the awesome is sometimes just finding the strength – not to get ahead – but to fight to stay where you are!

Most recently a big disappointment set in when I played kickball with the family and reactivated my hamstring injury Then I was invited to play some fun soccer with new friends out at the bleachers – hubby joined in and I cringed when he said “ya my wife can’t play, she can’t run”. I’ve worked out 4-5 days a week for the last 5 years, I’m a pretty fit girl … and I can’t even use my fitness to “play”.

I keep showing up though and trying to keep it fun – we did a playground workout and I love making the goofy exercise videos I post (you gotta follow on instagram).
But I’m kinda feeling like a boat out on the lake with no oars. I’m afloat (thank you habits) and sometimes drift one way or another but not really headed in any one direction (I need goals) and certainly not with any speed (I don’t even know an analogy for my oars, that’s how lost they are).

Maybe I need to find someone to jump in the boat with me so we can work together … or maybe I need to figure out how to fashion some oars all by myself. I refuse to just wait for it to sink But have not an idea what to do about it!

I really really believe in the motivational power of goals – even silly ones (my pushup goal kept me motivated for a whole year!) But goals are difficult at the moment. Shallow goals don’t hold much power, certainly not long term. Performance goals are fun but I have several injuries that make those less feasible right now. The “just keep showing up” goal is getting boring…

what’s your current fitness goal? what are you struggling with?email or facebook if you wanna share…

Celebrating my 42nd – do a birthday workout with me!!

42 reps (or sets if you are brave!) – jumping jacks, burpees, stairs, bear crawls, squats, pushups, leg raises, jumping lunges or squats, whatever you can do … or mix it up and do 7 circuits of 6 exercises?

Participate and show us (scroll down to see how to submit) – you can write out your workout, snap a pic or video clip – and you might win one of these awesome necklaces:

By March 30, submit to show us you did the workout:Instagram a text, pic or video with hashtag #debifitphotog42
or find the pic below and comment there
—OR—Visit facebook page to message, post, or comment (look for the pic below)

A different kind of workout at Fit-ographer! A relationship workout!
Fit-ographer is hosting a fun 7 day challenge for all you LADIES with a significant other…challenge theme is LOVE IS A VERB!

About The Mini “Luv Your Partner” Challenge

Being married for 17 years, I will be the first to tell you – it ain’t always easy – and with kids and dogs and bills (and workouts!), “relationship work” isn’t always on the top of the to do list. We are changing that for a few days! The challenge provides a fun way to remember how to treat the one you love and hopefully help that flame burn a little brighter. It’s also a good way to remember how to be selfless and do for someone else without expecting in return. After all LOVE IS A VERB – it’s something you do, and it takes practice!

For our mini “Luv Your Partner” challenge, you commit to do 5 fun and flirty activities over 7 days – things like love notes or making a list of reasons you are proud of your other half- and you’ll check in to let us know that you completed the task – we will have a private group to discuss or brainstorm ideas for others to try! The activities are simple – heck I just started my last semester of nursing school, and I’ll make time for them I’ve hosted this challenge a few times before and it is always lots of fun!!

There are 5 projects and you will have 7 days to complete them. They are meant to be spaced out – don’t do all of them on one day! The idea is to LUV YOUR PARTNER, so you are expected to complete the projects without saying it’s “for a challenge” AND (this is important) even if you are angry, irritated, or otherwise feel he doesn’t “deserve” it – LUV is not something we give only when someone deserves it and that is part of the challenge (and the personal growth on your part) !!!

We will try to start Monday, Feb 1… so join in now to get prepared!

Sign up just by letting me know via email or message me from the FB page so I can send you links to the group where the tasks will be posted. Grab a girlfriend to sign up too, cuz it’s more fun the more people we have!! *please only sign up of you will participate – it’s only 7 days!*

Concerns I had – and you may have too:

What has he done for me lately?I learned the hard way that relationships can’t work like that – someone has to be first. And if you start acting out of love you won’t have keep score but it will likely come back to you. You can’t say I tried this or that and he didn’t respond – that’s not a productive mentality – you try that because you love him, not to get a reward

He doesn’t deserve it!Love is not something you give when deserved Plain and simple! My kids don’t deserve a toy or a treat some days – but they are loved 24/7 – that’s called unconditional love and marriage is the same way. It is harder than it sounds – but doing these simple things as a project or challenge makes them easier to do! If you need to vent to do it, that’s what us ladies in the fb group are for!!

But I don’t have a husband!You don’t have to be married – just have a significant other

What if I do something loving and he doesn’t respond?That’s the risk of relationships isn’t it? Even after 20 years, every act of love is a risk if it’s truly an act of love not strategy – which is open and vulnerable (you need to read Brene Brown heehee). Besides this may be what’s holding both of you back from those small kindnesses is the fear of it being ignored or rejected. Someone’s gotta jump first And if you leave him a note and he doesn’t gush about it, still no one got hurt – you probably made HIS day and that’s what it was about right? Leave your pride at the door

I started this post after a particular incident, which was actually several months ago – the lesson is still relevant I was at one of my clinicals for school, which is a 12 hour day and for a girl that is used to eating every 3 hours, one 30 minute lunch time is rough. Sooooo I’ve been working on stashing bite sized snacks that I can pop in my mouth and devour in 5 seconds or less, but I digress…

You can imagine my excitement to be invited to sit in on a presentation that was CATERED The presenter invited us to take a sandwich, which to my happy surprise was on whole grain bread and STUFFED with turkey and lettuce – nothing else. The stars aligned, so I ate this sandwich. Lo and behold, 30 minutes later was “real” lunch time. I had packed a similarly healthy sandwich, and knowing I have 5 more hours to make it to dinner time I decided I better eat that one too. The presenter was packing up and saw my meal – “Oh did you see we brought you sandwiches? You didn’t get one? They were so good!”… “um I’d like to say no, but I sure did… and now I am eating this one too… I’m a hungry girl.”
Haha funny story, I should be embarrassed, yada yadaand then came this… “well if I was thin and could eat anything I wanted I’d probably eat that much too”

Wiki wiki whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Back the truck up!
and let me help you remove that foot…

I kid (kind of) – I smiled and left it at that, no need to attack the poor guy. I have uttered those same words to people in my ignorant past, and it truly was meant as a compliment. But it brought to light something that is so misunderstood and oooooohhhh so true!

FIRST - don’t be hatin’ on skinny chicks – or fat ones or tall ones or short ones or blonde ones or brunette ones or career ones or takin care of their family ones – it’s just not necessary…

SECOND – you NEVER know how much hard work and sacrifice is going on behind the scenes while you are busy handing out backhanded compliments.

But back to the point – and this is for you, the one that is working hard to make good choices, maybe enjoying a little reward for all that hard work… it’s not permanent… and that’s something you need to remember.

Have you ever had braces? Especially if you get them as an adult, you’ll notice that even after years, your teeth, if left unattended, want to move to their previous position. I know – I had to get a new retainer made because my teeth shifted. I’ve seen much worse from adults I know that never wore theirs.

Weight can be a lot like that and people don’t understand that.

Once you get fit and healthy, you don’t just stay that way unless you wear your retainer
I started nursing school after my weightloss and I find myself eating lunch with other students or nursing staff where we are learning. They usually don’t know my story, so I am taken by surprise when I hear comments like “yeah like you need to watch what you eat”or when they try to convince me that I “don’t need to be careful about what you eat” or “don’t need to count calories”.

They don’t know that if I am not careful I’ll find myself back at the beginning, the hard work it took to get to where I am, or the hard work it takes to stay there. What they don’t understand is the importance of wearing my retainer – and they didn’t suffer through the braces

“feeling thankful I used to be a computer programmer – as much as I hated it (loathed it, was nauseated by it) I am pretty sure the rather simple thing I just did for my websites because my database servers are down saved me from paying someone $500 or more to do (I am sure it is well into the thousands in 10 yrs of tending to these websites ) I guess it was the path I was meant to walk for a little while “

I often look at that time as a waste – I ‘escaped’ 2 months shy of my 10 yr anniversary at that job, and that was my intention – I hated it so much I shuddered at the idea of receiving that 10 yr plaque - it was just a tangible reminder of wasting a full decade of my life.
The post on my timeline above seems like a much better way of looking at it
And a lot of wonderful things happened during those years – probably the most wonderful that ever WILL happen – and even the job itself had great moments/aspects to it – nothing is black and white.

Occasionally I catch myself thinking this about my “overweight years” – what a waste, if I had only known what I know now, if I had only jumped on the train earlier – I do worry about what health effects that time has had that will show up later in life BUT without that period of life, without that struggle, I would not be who I am, where I am, wouldn’t have the tools that I have, the empathy and caring that I have for others’ struggles, the respect I have for the obstacles, the hard work, the strength I’ve discovered in myself for doing something difficult … I guess it was the path I was meant to walk for a while

CELEBRATION time!

It is almost my 5 yr fit-iversary!!! January 3rd!
Doing a few fun things… the giveaway, I thought I’d start early!
Gorgeous bracelet with a ton of inspiration – 14 different beautiful words to inspire you. And it’s darn cute to boot

This is an awesome prize – so you are gonna have to work for it!
Only 2 steps to enter but make sure you do them both. First you’ll subscribe to the blog, then you’ll submit your best/funny/weird/hardcore/silly/awesome/OR sentimental FIT-IVERSARY wish!

It can be a card, video clip, meme {if you make it pertinent to “Fitographer” or include an inside joke, you get brownie points }

You can submit this via email (or reply), FB message, instagram tagging, FB post to the wall – just be sure you tell me where you submitted it in the entry below!

SUBMIT your entry by January 4th! and stay tuned to the FB page for other fun fit-iversary nonsense

*minimum number of participants required
*entries may be shared on facebook and/or blog for fun – but won’t share names

Winner – whichever entry strikes a chord

I post recipes on facebook but they quickly get lost in the newsfeed! And it is crazy that pages don’t have a search function… BUT groups do! As an experiment of sorts, I’ve created a recipe group. Members can post and search recipes, so it will be sort of like an archive of recipes that your fellow Fitographers enjoy, and perhaps you will too I also like the idea that we are of different areas of the country and different backgrounds so some new flavors might be a bonus!!

Food is one of the most difficult parts of this healthy journey, especially if fitness hasn’t always been your focus. And even with my very favorite recipes I get tired of them and need something new to try so I am hoping I’ll get inspired by some of the recipes we share! PLUS in testing out this idea I’ve already come across a few of my OWN recipes that I had forgotten about (like the Creamy Sriracha Chicken)!!

If you’d like to join (it’s free of course!) just reply to this email and I’ll send you an invite to the recipe group!

I know it’s late in the game but I am thinking of doing 25 days of FIT ME for the holiday – and take myself back to the basics of when I started getting fit. The moderation is getting out of hand; the “slips” are becoming more frequent, the 90/10 more like 70/30.

It’s not because I need/want to look a certain way for the holidays but because as a gift to myself this year I need to feel like I’ve followed up on a promise I made to ME. AND it will be my 5 yr fit-iversary (wooohooo) after the holiday – seems like a great time for a fit booster!

Wanna join in?? I’ll make a group and come up with some basic “rules” – just request an invitation and bring your great attitude!

**getting so frustrated that only 10 people can see it at a time when I post on facebook so I apologize that I have to post multiple times so those who want to participate don’t miss out**